The Middle Eastern football season has begun, and the bright star of Saudi Arabia continues to shine.
Neymar, Yassine Bono, Alexander Mitrovic (Al-Hilal) and Otavio (Al-Nassr) all joined the Saudi Pro League last week.
But amidst these big names joining from Europe, you might have missed one of the most significant and historic transfers that also took place this week – the transfer of the most expensive Saudi player ever.
🇧🇷Neymar Jr. and 🇲🇦Yassine Bounou were presented in 🇸🇦Al-Hilal pic.twitter.com/APXpsaNv8f
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) August 19, 2023
Hassan Tambakti, a 24-year-old centre-back, moved from Al-Shabab Riyadh to the blue powerhouse Al-Hilal, for a total sum of 137 million Saudi Riyals (£29 million).
But why does Al-Hilal need him when they already have Kalidou Koulibaly and two other decent defenders in the form of Ali Al-Bulaihi and Muhammad Jahfali?
The details behind the deal reveal how complex it was.
Al-Hilal paid around 46 million Riyals (£9.6 million) in cash, and payments were waived for Gustavo Cuellar and Hattan Al Bahbri, who had moved in the other direction.
Plus three players were loaned - Hamad Al-Yami, Abdallah Radeef, and Jahfali - all of this combined to make up the record total.
But diving into the details shows a different picture.
According to Al-Riyadiah, Al-Nassr, who are lead by Cristiano Ronaldo, also attempted to acquire Tambakti and offered a higher sum than Al-Hilal.
But the player and the club wanted him to move to Al-Hilal.
Even Al-Ittihad, the reigning champions, attempted to see if they could lure the defender to join up with their superstar, Karim Benzema.
On the one hand, there's a bit of a bitter taste here.
A club investing so much money in one transfer window, including a lot on Neymar, is simply riding over a minor team.
But, since Ali Al-Bulaihi is not in his twenties anymore, Kalidou Koulibaly is injury-prone, and the addition of the foreign players' quota in the Asian Champions League, suddenly the Tambakti deal seems like a logical one.
Al Hilal needs Tambakti, and they need him now; with the influx of money, the price is less critical.
This deal teaches us a few interesting things – the avalanche of big money and big stars into the Saudi league has shifted priorities.
As mentioned in the previous column, the direct victims of this situation are the leading players in other Middle Eastern countries, who will be forced to move to other leagues or smaller teams.
The new earners from this situation are the young and talented Saudi players, who suddenly become sought-after and valuable commodities, as every team needs quality local defensive options among all these foreign attacking stars.
So that’s why we see the likes of Hassan Tambakti, who really is one of the rising defensive prospects in Asian football, becoming the most expensive Saudi player in football history.
🚨Record transfer in 🇸🇦Saudi football: International centre-back Hassan Tambakti became the most expensive Saudi player. He moved from Al-Shabab to Al-Hilal. The deal is worth approximately SR138m (around €34m), and the 24-year-old player signed with Al-Hilal for 4 years 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/AXnH1J3wH2
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) August 22, 2023
AFC Champions League qualifiers
In the AFC Champions League, a captivating encounter occurred between Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane’s Al-Nassr, and the Emirati champion Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai.
Despite top performances from Munas Dabbur and Yahya Al-Ghassani, who had managed to put Al-Ahli 2-1 ahead in the last ten minutes, the Saudis scored three goals in the final moments.
Sultan Al Ghannam (86'), Anderson Talisca (94'), and Marcelo Brozovič (96') made it 4-2 to Al-Nassr.
It’s a relief for everyone involved with the competition, as Ronaldo and Mane will be in the 2023/24 AFC Champions League group stage.
In the shadows of Ronaldo and the gang, in Riyadh on Tuesday Shabab Al Khaleel lost to Syria’s Al Ittihad Aleppo 2-1, and ended its journey in continental competitions for the upcoming season.
Jabal Mukaber are left to represent Palestinian football in Asia this season.
قققوووللللل الغناممممم pic.twitter.com/R7gXwPAZTh
— ميديا داريو (@Miadieadario) August 22, 2023
Palestinian West Bank Premier League returns
Away from the spotlight of the Saudi investments and the Gulf lights, the Palestinian West Bank Premier League started last weekend.
Shabab Dhahariah defeated newly promoted Al-Sawahra 7-0, while the champion Jabal Mukaber tied 3-3 in a thrilling match against Thaqafi Tulkarem.
Ammar Salman's Hilal Al-Quds, one of the leading title contenders this year, has yet to play as their match against Shabab Al Khaleel was moved to the upcoming Friday due to the latter's participation in the AFC Cup preliminaries.
Edited by Alex Smith
